


That Old Place

by 5KKHMTK5



Category: Original Work
Genre: Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Comforting PG, Depression, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Memories, Multi, late night walks, light conversations, love and support, loved ones, memorial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 03:45:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18065987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5KKHMTK5/pseuds/5KKHMTK5
Summary: Mike goes on a walk to calm himself. He retreats to the hill where he spent many days of his childhood. He recalls many memories and struggles with the disappearance of his sister.Upon recalling sad childhood memories, he learns an important lesson worth remembering.





	That Old Place

**Author's Note:**

> \---------- = Flashback

It’s a cold, dark, winter night. Mike was walking through the town rubbing his hands together to warm them up. He watched as his hot breath fogged up the air in front of him, only to be whisked away by the wind. He peered at the streetlights that were shining on the path, the old rotting poles made the town appear old-fashioned.

He began listening to the sounds dancing around his ears. The delightful noises of families and their children playing and the small talk of the villagers. He listened to crunch of his boots meeting with the snow, he looked back at his trail of footprints he left behind in the thin layer of snow.

He felt his stomach viciously growl at him, he didn’t eat tonight and he was lucky enough to slip away without PG noticing. A couple of shops were open late tonight, but he deserved to feel the pain of starvation.

The night sky is pretty, the beautiful shades of blue and purple swirled together in harmony. The stars are dim but as soon as he walks out of town they will shine brighter. He thinks to himself. He should bring the kids to the hill, let them see the stars and tell them about the memories of Liath. They have always loved hearing stories about her, he would tell them more often if he didn’t get so choked up. 

The sounds be began to get used to slowly faded away as he walked further from the town. His ears began to recognize the new sounds around him. He listened to the sound of the wind, swaying the leaves of the trees. He flinched at the loud hoot of the old owl. He looked up at the feathery friend, he remembers the day when it first came around. 

\----------

He was walking through the forest with Liath when the owl landed on the tree, he saw Liath’s eyes light up. Liath excitedly ran over to the tree where the owl had landed and began to bounce up and down, pointing at it saying “Look Mike, look!”. Mike was happy to see her smile, he asked if she was going to name it. She nodded and contemplated a name for a couple of minutes, coming up with the name “Tawny”. 

\----------

Thinking back to the memory made him chuckle, he looked up at Tawny once more before continuing down the path. He sighed and shook his head, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket to keep them warm. He shivered form the icy winter air, pulling his hood over his head.

As he approached the hill, he observed the surrounding area. The hill was situated in a large field, encased by wall of trees on every side. Wildflowers littered the field, the tall grass stretched as far as his knees. On the very top of the hill, was one of the biggest oak trees he had ever seen. The tree was bare of any leaves around this season, yet it still loomed above the field with great power.

Swinging back and forwards in the wind, tied to the thickest branch of the great tree was the old tyre swing from his childhood. Mike was happy to see happy to see that it was still intact. He could almost imagine Liath on it swinging back and forwards, the brightest smile on her face. He remembers the day when Vincent put up the tyre. 

\----------

Vincent was climbing up the tall oak tree, the rope attached to the tyre wrapped around his arm. Mike couldn’t look, covering his eyes with his hands. Jeremy was running in circles screeching, Liath giggling in excitement. Violet was shouting up instructions and Vincent was whining that he “wasn’t a baby”. In an attempted act of independence he decided to prove Violet wrong and step on the branch Violet told him not to, and of course it snapped right under his feet.

Everyone gasped at the sight and the group silenced from the shock. Mike uncovered his eyes to see his brother hanging only onto a single thin branch. Jeremy began to scream even louder, now escalating to incoherent blabber. Violet was frozen in fear so Liath ran over and began directing Vincent in her place. 

Eventually, Vincent managed to climb to the thickest branch of the tree and tied the rope around it. Everyone had finally managed to calm down, at least somewhat. Mike smiled as he watched Liath wiggling with excitement, it’s not often he gets the chance to see his twin like this. There was just one small problem left to tackle, how does Vincent get down?

After a good hour of directing Vincent down the tree, he was finally safe on the ground. Vincent gave the thumbs up to Liath, signaling that she could now use the swing. Her eyes lit up, sprinting towards the swing she hopped on with fascination in her eyes. She spent the day playing on the swing, right up until sunset. Mike sat with Vincent, watching Jeremy pushing Liath back and forwards. He looked at his brother, who was gazing at the sunset, a soft smile on his face. Mike called his name, he turned around teary eyed and said, “It was worth it”. Mike looked at his brother in surprise, never seeing him like this. Vincent punched his arm and told him if Liath heard of this he was dead. He rubbed his poor shoulder and promised his brother he wouldn’t.

\----------

Mike looked up at the tree with glazed eyes, he missed those times. When they all ran away from the chaos that was there life, where everything could be calm even just for a moment. They were the only times Mike saw his twin sister smile. Her beautiful, glowing smile was the only thing that kept him going.

Mike walked around the tree to the most special place of all, her memorial space. It was breathtaking, in the center was a wooden plaque with the name Liath written in beautiful cursive writing that written by Violet. Flower garlands were draped around the plaque and her belongings surrounded the memorial. One of her belongings in particular stood out to him the most, her favourite bear.

\----------

Life was tough for the siblings, with every day being a constant battle for freedom and happiness. From birth, Liath received the blunt of their Father's anger. Later on in their life Jeremy was brought into the family home following the death of their aunt, despite being a cousin he instantly became their brother. 

For Mike and Liath's 10th birthday the pair received a stuffed bear as I present the other three. It was hand made by Violet herself. The light brown fur was soft and cuddly, a small blue ribbon that matched the colour of Liath's signature bowtie was intricately tied around the neck of the bear. Liath ended up roaring crying with happiness, hugging her sister tightly.

Mike decided Liath needed the bear more than he did so he let her keep it close. Every night she curled up close to the soft animal, squeezing it for comfort. Some night he could hear her talk to the bear, sometimes he heard her cry to the bear. On a rare occasion when Liath had an especially bad nightmare she would slip into bed with Mike, the bear would lay in between the two while they huddled together for warmth and comfort.

\----------

Mike sighed and wiped the tears streaming down his face. He sat down and felt the luscious grass with his fingertips. He sat back against the tree and looked out at the view. He allowed his eyes to fall closed, now listening to the pleasant chirping of the crickets and the sound do the long grass flowing like waves in the wind. The breeze blowing through the strands of his hair was like a soft massage.

He lay there for quite a long time, allowing his emotions to flood out of him. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath in, feeling the fresh air rejuvenate him. He took a glance at his watch, it’s almost 11 o’ clock meaning the kids would be sent to bed soon and he wanted to wish them goodnight. 

He hoisted himself up, stretching his body hearing his joints pop. He took one last glance at the memorial before heading back home. The town was now mostly empty, all the shops were closed and families were bundling up for the night. Mike’s body felt weak from the lack of food and warmth. He let out a large sneeze that startled him. Blowing his nose, it was clear he'll be waking up with a cold in the morning. 

Walking up to the door of his home he braced himself for the disappointed look of his partner as he entered. He was warmly greeted by his children, excited to see their Papa. Toby ran up to him hugging his leg in greeting. Arthur and Cody sat on the floor of the hall together, Arthur waving at him with a nature book sat on his lap and Cody was in the middle of braiding his long black hair. 

Mike knelt down to hug his son, pulling back and ruffling his saturated green hair. Toby ran back to his siblings and continued colouring the pages strewn across the floor. Mike unbuttoned his coat, hung it up on the coat rack and placed his shoes among the long row of shoes from the other family members. He walked past the kids with a smile, listening to their light conversation about the newest TV show. 

He walked past the living room hearing the excited chatter of the other kids, only to hear Peter walked in and announce bedtime. Mike chuckled at the chorus of whines from the kids, his own trio looking up with pouts. Mike sheepishly walked into the kitchen were many of his family members were, sitting at the table having conversations amongst each other. Mike silently walked around PG hoping to avoid him while he was talking to his older brother Deacon. Vincent, who was having a conversation with Haru and Darren looked his way with a suspicious look. Mike gave him a tiny wave and he returned with the same gesture before turning back to his boyfriends. 

Mike walked towards the counter and popped the button on the kettle, relaxing himself waiting for the kettle to boil. He stood and watched as it boiled, he listened to the background noise of his family's conversations. It seemed like forever waiting for the kettle to boil. He felt a presence behind him but didn’t have enough time to react as the unknown person grabbed his shoulders. He let out a yelp and whipped around to interrogate this mystery person before shyly sinking down the counter realising this person was his partner.

PG looked at him disappointedly, he raised one eyebrow as if to ask what was wrong. Mike couldn’t meet his gaze and looked down at the floor in shame. He heard PG sigh and felt him take his hands off of Mike's shoulders. PG gently nudged him towards the table and sat him down in the chair.

Mike turned his attention to the conversation Violet and Jeremy were having to the left of him, relaxing at the calm atmosphere of the room. After a few minutes a cup of tea and plate full of biscuits were placed beside him. His partner pulled out the chair to the right of him and sat down, giving him a loving smile. He thanked PG and looked at the food in front of him, realising now he was starving. 

He sat with his family for the remainder of the night, enjoying their company and the comfort of his partner. He knew no matter what happened or two he felt he could always rely on his family for love and support. He could continue moving forward and living with the disappearance of his beloved twin sister knowing he has his family right by his side.

X

"That Old Place"

That old place,  
With your familiar face  
And that old game chase  
Memories that cannot be erased.

That old hill,  
Where we used to chill  
With our own free will  
With that single daffodil.

That old tree,  
The spot where we would be  
Where could be free  
Away from those who disagree.

That old swing,  
Tied by a single string  
Where she used to sing  
And the happiness it would bring.

That old sunset,  
When we would forget  
That underlying threat  
With never one regret.

That old happiness,  
That made problems feel like less  
That diminished all the stress  
And made us forget this mess.

X

**Author's Note:**

> Hello.  
> Follow me here  
> https://www.instagram.com/p/BtW1M31nHAM/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1lrtd5xe2e0mi  
> Or here  
> https://twitter.com/5KuteKittyHMTK5?s=09  
> For my art  
> These are my beautiful ocs, please don't steal them UwU  
> Check out the links to see them drawn(if I've posted it)


End file.
